Custosae de Lux Lucis
by AthenaAsh13
Summary: Twist on the daughter of Tom Riddle fic. Set after GoF. Cassie Storm doesn't know who she is. Who are her parents? What's she doing at Number 4 Privet Drive? And what are these new binds on Harry and Cassie's magic? Full summary inside.
1. Summary

Custosae de Lux Lucis

Disclaimer: I'm not making any money – Not Mine

Summary:

Cassie Storm has run away. At age fifteen, she's finally had enough of her life and she's ready to join the revolution. Stolen away from her family before she turned three months old, she's grown up in the manor of the Lord Voldemort, the man who claimed to be her father, but raised her as his servant and heir. Voldemort, who she knows to be Tom Riddle, has made her life a living hell. She was raised as his follower, a woman of the Dark side, never given the opportunity to make her own choice as to who she supports.

She finds herself only days later in a London foster home, nearly fifty miles away from her previous home. Days later, she is adopted by the Dursley family. Cass has no idea what she is getting herself into…therefore it's only coincidence that the home she's taken to is the one place her father had only wished to find. Right? Because the second she steps through the those doors, she sees her adopted father's worst enemy, the savior of the innocent and the preserver of all things light: Harry Potter.

Harry does not recognize Cassie, grown in solitude, unknown to all outside of Riddle's inner circle and their families, at first. But he does see something in her eyes that he does recognize…something from her past life before Voldemort stole her from her parents.

Spending more and more time with Harry as she is locked in the Dursleys' abusive household, Cassie finds herself choosing the other side, the one Voldemort cursed to hell and back.

Realizing her true identity, becoming unbelievably powerful, choosing the other side, and falling in love were never part of the plan, but maybe, maybe that plan doesn't exist anymore? Who is Cassie really and what's her purpose? Follow Cassie Storm as she makes the choice of a lifetime and one that might quite possibly make or break her world…

What do you think? If you like it, read on.

Athena


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I'm not making any money – Not Mine

Custosae de Lux Lucis

Chapter One

8:37 A.M.

Dursley Residence

Number 4 Privet Drive

Surrey, England

July 18, 1995

_Four weeks I've been here…four weeks…and still no letters, no messages, nothing. Dammit! I deserve some knowledge of what's going on in the wizarding world, especially with Riddle's return to power and the Ministry not accepting that he's back! Wait…when did I start calling him Riddle? Never mind…why am I at Privet damn Drive with no information?_

Harry James Potter was going crazy, pacing the floor of the tiny basement this summer. Apparently, Vernon and Petunia Dursley had deemed him unworthy of keeping Dudley's second bedroom, not that it surprised him. What did surprise him was the fact that they were apparently taking in a foster kid from a home in St. Ottery Catchpole this summer. Why? Harry hadn't the faintest clue. What he _did_ know was that Petunia and Vernon seemed perfectly nice when not geared toward Harry or out of the house. It was extremely surprising and suspicious.

For the past four weeks, Harry had been going crazy with grief and anxiety. Cedric Diggory, a seventeen year old _boy_ and a good friend of Harry's, had died right in front of his eyes with no consideration from Voldemort. Cedric was only viewed as a nuisance. The pain of this realization, that this monster was once again in power, was horrible for Harry.

He'd tried to get a message to Flourish & Blotts, but Dumbledore was keeping Hedwig up at the castle because he told Harry she was too recognizable for the Death Eaters. He couldn't get any letters from _anyone_! No Ron, no Hermione, no Remus, no Neville, no Luna, no Ginny, Fred, George, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Dean, Seamus, Percy, Professor McGonagall, Tonks…

"BOY! Get up here this minute and make breakfast! We're picking up the girl and her friend from London today!" Vernon shouted down the dank stairs of the dark basement.

Harry groaned to himself, shutting his old school textbook. He'd been reviewing all his old textbooks for the past month, studying up and training. He'd even started doing the spells wandlessly, surprised at how easily the magic came to his fingertips after some simple meditating and much worked-on Occlumency. He took it as a good sign that he had not yet had a vision from Voldemort as a library book had warned him he might have.

Harry marched up the stairs emotionlessly and made breakfast. Eventually, he noticed that the Dursleys had begun eating and he retreated back downstairs. He returned to reading his third year charms book.

About five hours later, Harry heard the garage door opening again and heard the purr of Vernon's engine.

"What I wouldn't give to say: _Lumos Maxima_!" Harry growled in his mind. Instead, Harry searched for his work light and turned that on. Rolling his eyes and sighing at the fact that he would have to glamour all his textbooks and homework so the new girl wouldn't see about his magic, Harry once more pushed all his things into one corner, hanging a string between the two walls and draping a long white sheet across it for privacy between what would be two rooms.

"BOY! Get up here right now and take care of the girl," Vernon shouted from upstairs.

"Wonder if you'll ever learn _her_ name, Dursley," Harry muttered darkly and ascended the stairs, throwing the door open as his hand touched the blackened doorknob. He rolled his eyes and merely adjusted his t-shirt as he walked toward his uncle.

Harry had imagined this new roommate of his to be just another Muggle girl. However, her naivety and innocence would soon be shattered at the hands of the Dursleys. She would have no idea of the neglect and abuse she would endure at the hands of the Dursleys.

"BOY! Hurry and get up here _now_!" Vernon shouted once more.

"I'm right here, Dursley," he said angrily and went outside to help the newcomer get her bags out of the car.

However, it was quickly deemed unnecessary as the girl came through the doorway.

Harry was stunned.

The girl was dressed in old, hip-hugger, light blue Old Navy jeans with holes and a ratty, light blue lace camisole with a slightly dirty, unbuttoned, wrinkled white blouse with the sleeves rolled up several times all the way to her elbows. Her shoes were battered black Converse and she wore a beat-up navy and white hoodie. A black backpack was slung over her shoulder and she held what looked to be a classic, Wuthering Heights, under her arm. On her one wrist were two bangles and on her other was a charm bracelet and a group of what appeared to be Muggle friendship bracelets. She wore a ring on her left pointer finger and a necklace around her neck and gold hoop earrings.

But what surprised Harry most of all was how beautiful she was, despite her old and dirty clothing. She had curly red-brown hair, brilliant blue eyes, a small amount of freckles scattered across her cheeks, pink lips, and a blazing look in her eyes and aura surrounding the girl that automatically made everyone intimidated…everyone except for Harry, of course. However, that sparkle was extremely intriguing…her eyes looked like sapphires. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the cold and her gentle curls were pulled back into a half ponytail with a gold clip and flipped through, creating a sort of crown effect. The tendrils were wind-blown from the unnaturally cold and windy June weather.

All in all, she was the most natural beauty Harry had ever seen in his life, both magical and Muggle.

However, Harry was not fooled by the red handprint on her left cheek and immediately knew her abuse had already begun. But the girl did not seem affected in the least. It was almost as if she was disappointed, but had half-expected this. Perhaps her last family had been abusive to her as well. Who knew what her family history was.

She only had her backpack and a small messenger bag draped over her shoulder. She didn't seem excited or scared at all. The look in her eyes was one that James easily recognized…it was one of grief and depression. The same emotion James had been experiencing for the past four months because of Cedric and the return of Moldywart.

Harry picked up the coats the Dursleys had dropped on the floor, only to see that the girl had also leaned down to help him. As if she had done with a hundred times before, with practice and speed, she picked the things up off the floor and easily hung them up, closing the doors to the white closet behind her.

That was when Harry took a second look at her. She seemed familiar almost…those eyes…

Harry's eyes traveled down to the book she held underneath her arm and blinked once. Where Wuthering Heights had once been lay Blood Magic and Its Defenses Against the Dark Arts by Amanda Brown. His eyes traveled back up to the girls' and she seemed to smile sadly.

"Hello, Harry."

Hey, guys! I posted a poll on my profile page:

Who do you want Neville to be paired with?

Susan Bones

Daphne Greengrass

Adrianna Dumbledore

Astoria Greengrass

Luna Lovegood

However, I won't make a decision for several chapters more. If you want to know more about my version of the characters, read on before you vote.

Review, review, review please! It's always helpful for the aspiring writer...it's also my first fanfic so I'd appreciate any feeback.

Thanks.

Athena Ash


	3. Chapter Two

Custosae de Lux Lucis

Chapter Two

_Disclaimer: I'm not making any money...I don't own Harry Potter. I wish I did..._

1:34 P.M.

Dursley Residence

Number 4 Privet Drive

Surrey, England

July 18, 1995

"Boy! This is Cassidy Storm and she'll be staying the basement with you on the other side. I figure you can use your freakishness to make room for her," Petunia cackled with laughter, knowing fully well he couldn't use magic. "We want dinner in an hour so hurry up and get her all sorted out." His unnaturally skinny aunt grabbed her shopping bags and skipped up the stairs. "And when Melony gets back, if she comes back, tell her she needs to move to the basement as well! We decided her escapade yesterday was unforgivable!"

Dudley laughed as well and moved his fat butt up the stairs, eagerly heading for his TV in his room. The fat pig was a complete jerk that used drugs, bullied everyone he could, beat up each little kid he saw, raped and abused girls…he was a complete jackass and Harry knew it. On more than one occasion, he had come to blows with his cousin this summer and had almost pulled his wand out to show him the exact kind of pain he showed his victims with one of the new dark curses he'd learned.

Melony was the other new addition to the Dursley household. Vernon's sister, Fiona, had died in a car crash at the end of May and Melony had been quite unhappily adopted into the family. However, Melony was treated as much more of an equal than Harry…until they found out she was magical. She'd apparently been keeping _that_ secret from them until yesterday. Melony was a sweet girl and Harry was ecstatic to find that he had another cousin who _wasn't_ a complete jerk.

Warily, but feeling a strong but unexpected urge to trust Cassidy, Harry led her down the stairs and pointed to the left side of the room before pointing his wand at her warily.

"Harry, put the wand down. If I had foul intentions, I wouldn't be able to get through the wards. As it is, I ran away from evil. I don't want to get cursed into being captured again."

"Really? You're on my side? You _do_ realize that I just witnessed Riddle's return and a good friend of mine die? You do realize that I dream about his pleasure in causing people _pain_? You do realize that a Death Eater impersonated my Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher all last year and I might be less than inclined to trust anyone who comes into my house without me knowing _who they are_!"

"I'm Cassie Storm, fifteen year old witch with a severe attitude problem. I've been trained in everything from the Dark Arts to Parselmagic to Elemental Magic. I'm a soldier and a fighter, but weaker than anyone I know at the same time…too weak to defend myself against _him_. I was stolen from my parents before I could talk. I don't know anything to do with normal teenage life. Does that answer your question?" Cassie questioned calmly before throwing her backpack and messenger bag down on the grey floor and somehow creating a bed out of thin air.

"Where's your wand? The Ministry is going to kill me for doing magic 'cause they won't know it's you," Harry grumbled.

"It's called wandless magic, mister golden boy," she snapped. "And as for the Ministry picking up any all magic and blaming it on you, that isn't normal. If you get in trouble for any amount of magic created in your household, you've got issues because you have two other magical people in this house and one low-level squib that I'm guessing is Petunia. So if you get in trouble for any and all magic produced here, you've got issues and you need to talk to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Her name's Amelia Bones and her niece is Susan Bones, who's in your year but a Hufflepuff."

"How do you know so much and you've never gone to Hogwarts?" questioned Harry.

"I have my sources and a close circle of friends," Cassie said stiffly and fiddled with a charm on her bracelet before placing it on the floor. Seconds later, a large cherry school trunk appeared with the initials CAS. However, there was a magical scar that showed it had once said CBR and had been angrily changed many years ago.

Harry's jaw clenched but he retreated back to his corner, pulling out the textbook to finish off the third year charms. He wished desperately that he could use his wand.

Cassie watched out of the corner of her eye as she opened her Blood Magic book and began reading. After thirty minutes of annoyance, she'd had enough. "That's it! Sometime within the next week, we're going to get you an untraceable wand! And I'm going to teach you wandless magic! This is ridiculous!"

"Wandless magic?" Harry asked dubiously. "Not even Dumbledore can perform wandless magic…"

"You make it sound like Dumbles is the be all, end all," Cassie laughed. "I can assure you he's not."

"Oh really? And who is? Voldemort?"

Cassie's eyes went cold. "Never, _ever_ suggest that I will ever be a follower of that bastard on my own accord. _Never_."

Harry's eyebrow raised and he shook his head at her. "What's your issue with Moldywart? Mine's public, yours on the other hand…"

"It's none of your concern, golden boy, so just let it be."

And so it went on for the next week. Cassie _did_ end up escaping to Diagon Alley with Harry and getting him six untraceable wands, a good trunk with multiple compartments (including an indoor _mansion_, which Cassie said would be very useful if you ever needed to hide), an entirely new wardrobe, potions ingredients, practically an entirely new library, etc. On the third day, she also demanded that she start teaching him more magic than the codswallop Dumbledore was allowing him to learn. On the fifth day, Harry began joining Cassie in her daily runs and exercise. He started practically Quidditch on the field in his trunk as well, fighting against Cassie for the snitch and then being Keeper against her Chaser. It was the one time Harry believed she actually acted like her age.

Cassie Storm was an enigma to Harry. Despite how many times the Dursley family insulted or abused her, Cassie did not show _any_ emotion. After one week, the only evidence he saw that they affected her at all was the slight hardening of her eyes. She refused to show any emotion at all when it came to the Dursleys. She simply ignored him and Harry wished to God he knew how she did it. She performed all her chores wordlessly and perfectly, without any complaints at all, and even handled the physical abuse Vernon and Dudley did to her without saying a word. However, after the first time Dudley had tried to sexually assault her, he never tried again. Harry had no idea _what_ she'd done, but it was enough to make Dudley cower in fear any time he ever considered the new girl _that_ way.

She was an extremely talented and intelligent witch, more so than anyone else Harry had ever met. Cassie was also extraordinarily powerful and knew more magic than Dumbledore himself. She could recommend any book on any subject in a heartbeat and he'd know it would be perfect for his purposes. Cassie ran nearly ten miles a day without any issues and dueled so much Harry believed her had would be permanently cramped from holding her wand. She was drop dead gorgeous and extremely graceful when she fought, Harry also noted, after dueling her on the sixth day and feeling the pain of the duel throughout his body. She dueled with both magical weapons and muggle weapons, from everything to a gun to a sword to a knife to a bow and arrow. What Cassie had told him on the first day was true: she was an excellent soldier and one wisely trained in the aspects and evils of reality.

Yet Cassie also refused to share any of her past and history with Harry. He'd seen the bruises, cuts, lashes, and scars that marked her entire body and she hadn't said a word when he'd subtly asked her about them, merely stating that her "past history hadn't been rainbows and daises." Harry had questioned her on numerous occasions as to where she'd come from and how she had learned so much magic and fighting techniques. She still refused to breathe a word. The only answer he'd gotten out of her was that it had something to do with Voldemort and she didn't want to talk about it yet.

_Yet_. That one word gave Harry a little bit of hope, at least. Cassie intrigued him in a way that was completely unfamiliar to him. Well not _totally_ unfamiliar…after all he was a teenage boy with eyes and he _had_ noticed Cho Chang last year, but he was still to naïve to understand exactly what his feelings meant. And in all reality, he wasn't even sure if those were his feelings about her…

It was eighth day before he got any sort of lead on her past.

Cassie was sitting down in the corner, head resting against her cherry trunk, emerald blanket pulled across her lap, covering her bare lower thighs and her shins peeking out from underneath the cotton. There was a book on the research behind the Wolfsbane Potion open on her lap and Harry recalled her passionate speech about the fact that werewolves were seriously misunderstood creatures and how desperately she wanted to find a cure. Cassie maintained that they were much less monstrous than Voldemort and Harry simply nodded and said, "I have a good friend who's a werewolf. I completely agree. There's no need to tell me."

"Girl! Get up here _now_! Move all our suitcases to the door! I want everything to be perfect for our vacation! And no funny stuff! I'm warning you that if anything weird happens, it's on your head!"

Cassie kicked the blanket off her lap, pulled on loose grey sweatpants over her boy shorts, and placed the book down on her trunk. As she ran past him, Harry saw it once again…that slight hardening of her beautiful blue eyes.

_Beautiful?_ Harry questioned himself. _Where the hell did that come from? I wonder what that piece of paper is in her book…_

Harry crept toward the book warily and carefully pulled out the folded piece of paper she was using as a bookmark. Carefully, he unfolded the ivory parchment and let his eyes fly across the paper in shock.

It was a poem…the most depressing poem Harry had probably ever read, not that he'd read many poems in the first place:

Prison bars and walls of steel

Bloodstained hands that rip and peel

Your crumpled body on the ground

Tears stain your face, as you make no sound

You pray to God that you'll be spared

Or a quick death would be just as fair

The ones held close stand wide-eyed with fear

As your father stumbles oh so near

You cry and sob, as the beats grow hard

Skin splits open and muscles get jarred

You lie in a heap, as the door slams closed

At last some peace as your body grows cold

The youngest walks over and pats sister's head

A child so young who sees thing so sad

What will they do, how will they survive?

When the public ignores all these cries

What we must do and what we must say

Is that none of this is ok

Society often turns a blind eye

As children get beat and then they die

Please speak out for those who are lost

We must help them at all costs

Let them know to not be afraid

And that in the end, they'll be ok

By Cassandra Riddle

_Cassandra Riddle! Voldemort's daughter! She's been lying to me the whole time! Wait…why would she be writing this? Voldemort couldn't do this to his own daughter, could he?_ Harry's thoughts raced at a hundred miles a minute.

"Put the poem back in the book, Harry," Cassie said calmly from the other side of the room, looking at him warily from the floor beneath the window. Her head was in her hands and she had tears in her eyes.

"Why? So you can go talk to your father and master again and tell him that you've been found out?"

Cassie was in front of him in a second and slapped him right across the face. "How dare you! I told you to never, _ever_ insinuate that I would voluntarily serve that bastard ever _again_! I ran away! And it wasn't even my choice to serve him in the first place!" Cassie shouted before falling to the ground, back against the wall once more. "It was never my choice…"

Harry was at a loss as to what to do. He'd never dealt with crying girls before, except for Hermione. But Hermione already knew that he wasn't the greatest with emotions. Most of the time, he liked to lock them up and let the stew and then pop the top off at the most inconvenient time.

However, he couldn't stand to see Cassie so miserable so he went over and wrapped his arm around her and she turned her face into his shoulder and tried hard not to soak his shirt.

Roughly two minutes later, Harry heard the Dursleys drive away for their vacation and Cassie's sobs began to quiet. Harry whispered softly to the girl, "How about we go upstairs and I'll get you a drink of water?"

Cassie nodded slightly and followed Harry uncertainly, grabbing her blanket since she was wearing only her light blue camisole and dark blue boy shorts with gray sweatpants over top.

Harry led her to the couch they weren't usually allowed to sit on and walked to the kitchen, poured her a glass of water, and came back, setting it on the coffee table.

"Talk," he ordered, extremely wary of the girl in front of him.

Thank you to the author of the poem. I don't know who wrote it but I found it on fanfiction somewhere and I saved it for this story. I lost the author. I apologize...

Review, review, review, please!

Athena


	4. Chapter Three

Custosae de Lux Lucis

Chapter Three

10:22 A.M.

Dursley Residence

Number 4 Privet Drive

Surrey, England

July 27, 1995

"Cassidy Storm…that _is_ my real name, you know," Cassie whispered to Harry, playing with the loose threads of her threadbare blanket. "I just didn't tell you everything."

"I know," Harry said. "I didn't mean to accuse you…I was just angry that you had to go through something like that and I took it out on you. But I do admit that 'Cassandra Riddle' did sound slightly fishy…"

"Fishy indeed," Cassie smiled sadly, but it quickly disappeared, only to reveal clear anxiety and depression. "Harry…promise me that you won't tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you," she pleaded.

"Sure, I promise," Harry said without hesitation, ever the Gryffindor.

"I don't know who my parents are," Cassie said and Harry went cold. "_But_ I do know that they were a good witch and wizard when they died, despite my father's previous allegiance to the Dark Lord…"

"Don't call him that. You're not his follower."

Cassie smiled sadly. "But I was. I was stolen from my parents when my mother died. My father was killed earlier, not long after my birth, but my mother hid. He killed her without a second thought, only a few months after I was born. The date was October 31st of 1980."

"But that was – "

"Exactly one year before your parents were killed…I know. It seemed that Riddle quite liked Halloween for horrible attacks like that. I spent the first three years of my life locked in a dungeon of Malfoy Manor…until his spirit returned to the manor. Voldemort did not spend ten years in the forests of Albania…in fact he only spent the first three and the last year in those forests. When he returned, he possessed the body of one Rodolphus Lestrange. He loved to torture us little ones in the basement, but one day he announced that he was to pick his heir from the dungeons. All of us children hid in the corners, no one wanting to be chosen, but wishing for a better life at the same time.

"There were so many of us in the basement, but I couldn't stand it anymore when he started torturing a little girl named Melody Black-Malfoy. I shouted for him to start hurting her and magically healed her. I waited for the pain of the Cruciatus Curse to hit me when I stepped in front of the curse for Melody once more, but instead a white shield came in front of me, spurted from the palms of my hands. Voldemort was baffled and intrigued, but despite his beliefs that he would choose a male for his heir, he chose me for my excellent display of my magical power.

"He changed my name…all I knew was the fact that my dad used to call me 'Firefly' or 'Phoenix' because I loved to play with fire when it came to accidental magic. He knew my name, however, and just refused to tell me. I grew up thinking my name _was_ Cassandra Riddle, until I found out from his old diary that his real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. I knew that I was not his biological daughter so I knew my last name couldn't be Riddle.

"I looked around the library, secretly looking at wizarding genealogy in my spare time, determined to find out who I was, but eventually Riddle caught on to what I was doing and told me he burned all wizarding genealogy books. But I found out they were just under wards and wands in the east wing of the manor just a week ago.

"However, in the mean time, Voldemort trained me to be a soldier. I know everything there is to know about Dark Magic and Parselmagic from him. I also learned Light Magic, Grey Magic, Blood Magic, Runic Magic, Animagi Magic, Animagic, Shadow Magic, Phoenix Magic, Elemental Magic, etc. I loved to learn…it was my one escape. Imagine growing up thinking that monster was my father…it was despicable. I spent every moment of my time in the library. I figured the sooner I trained myself up, he sooner I'd go on missions meaning I could escape…how very wrong I was.

"When I was seven, he sent me on my first mission: to kill a half-blood's family that defied him in the first war. I had _no_ intentions of doing so. Instead, I tried to escape, but was quickly captured by Antonin Dolohov. I expected many Cruciatus and pain curses when I got back…but what happened was even worse…" Cassie sobbed into Harry's chest, her legs folded on the couch beside her. Harry stroked her hair softly and pulled her close to him.

"What did he do?" Harry questioned concernedly.

Cassie refused to look at him. Instead, she looked at the floor ashamedly. "I couldn't fight back. He knew so much more magic than I; and ninety-nine percent of my magic was bound. He had his full power and I had nothing." Cassie wrapped her arms around her waist, but no more violent sobs came…only the salty tears that stained her flushed cheeks. "He stole my virginity…over and over again. He did it so much…anytime I displeased him. He did it in front of his followers…in front of his _mistress_, just to show how powerless anyone would be compared to him. He stole my innocence…my purity…he stole everything from me, including my soul for a while. My soul was broken, my heart, my mind, my body…I felt dirty. But that filth wouldn't fade no matter how many showers I took, no matter how many times I scrubbed the blood away from my skin…no matter how many times water stained my cheeks.

"So I became emotionless. I grew detached. I fought and I became an emotionless soldier. Riddle was pleased…he believed I was finally turning into his proper heir when I didn't fight back against him in front of him…what he didn't know was that I was just biding my time, waiting for the right moment to strike."

"When I was ten, he disappeared, saying he, as Rodolphus Lestrange, was looking for something in the forests of Albania. Apparently, he found it, and a new body. Rodolphus disappeared to his double in Azkaban not a second after Riddle began possessing Quirrell. Voldemort was the one supplying him with enough power to keep his double outside of Azkaban.

"When someone broke into Gringotts, I knew immediately what had happened. I'd met Nicholas Flamel under a disguise several times in my lifetime and I knew about the Sorcerer's Stone. I was horrified that Riddle might actually get it…so I sent a note to Penerell, suggesting they move the stone to Hogwarts and they did. However, I had no idea that he was possessing Quirrell, nor that I was playing right into Riddle's hands. I figured I had to do more so I suggested the enchantments to Nicholas and told him to suggest the Mirror of Erised to Dumbledore. Nick trusts me so he did what I suggested…but Riddle got further than I thought he would and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I thank you for stopping him."

"It was nothing –"

"Yes, it was, Harry. You saved the wizarding world from being attacked by evil much earlier than they were ready for and for that, you deserve everyone's thanks.

"However, I heard about the diary plot much too late. Riddle didn't return for a long while after the Sorcerer's Stone incident, but Malfoy Sr. wasn't appreciating the disrespect he got from Arthur Weasley and I heard him talking to Kevin Wilkinson much too late. Originally, I planned on sending my friend 'Tillie' to warn you about Ginny…"

"Tillie?"

"A house elf I'm friends with, but Tillie was injured by Alecto Carrow and couldn't go. She suggested Dobby go, and though I protested, he seemed so eager so I let him."

"_You_ sent _Dobby_ after me?" Harry said disbelievingly. Cassie cringed.

"Well I wasn't exactly _expecting_ him to try to keep you from going to Hogwarts. I just told him to tell you, but apparently he took your protection detail a tad too far. Instead of warning you about Ginny, he told you not to go back to school, the crazy, overenthusiastic elf. Later, I found out exactly who he worked for and what he was doing to you and immediately ordered him to stop. Then Tillie and I took over your protection detail.

"You can't imagine how _thrilled_ I was to have escaped Malfoy Manor, even if it was just for a little while. Tillie and I popped through the Hogwarts wards –"

"I thought you can't apparate in Hogwarts?"

"Not unless you're a Founders' Heir…but you _can_ use house elf popping. Anyways, we popped down to the Chamber of Secrets, found you and the jealous Weasley boy and Lockhart and I got pissed off that he was trying to wipe your memories so I put up the _reflexio_ shield. It bounced right back at him with no damage to you two at all," she stated smugly.

"Wait, I thought it was because of Ron's broken wand…"

"Nope! Dobby did it the first time. He was mad at Ron."

"Why?"

"Well, I'll explain that later and I don't know the extent of it, but also Draco isn't as bad as he seems…he's got a compulsion charm on him that Lucius put on him to keep him from becoming a so-called blood-traitor. He's really nice to me."

"Well he's an arrogant git at school…"

"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy Sr. put a compulsion charm on him…of course he acts like a git at school! He doesn't know how to throw it off. Neither do I for that matter, but I'm looking into it…"

"Why'd you go back?"

"Even after it all, Tillie's master is Voldemort until I firmly stated and understood he was no longer my father _with proof_. He'd ordered her to keep me at Riddle Manor." Harry was quiet for a minute.

"Any interference in my third year?"

"No, I was dealing with problems of my own then," Cassie whispered softly, suddenly emotionless again.

"What problems?"

"Harry..." Cassie's emotionless mask came back in place.

"Cassie, you don't _have _to tell me, but maybe it will help."

"Maybe you're right." Harry nodded encouragingly and she sighed, shivering with discomfort. "That was the first time Malfoy Sr. raped me," she whispered.

Harry grit his teeth. "What!"

"I was so afraid I was pregnant as a result. I was starved for a week for letting him touch me. Riddle believed I should have prevented it. The next time he came…well let's just say that my dark arts training wasn't completely useless.

"I remember the few times that year that Tillie used to apparate me and a few friends from the dungeons to Hogwarts for just a few hours. She was never punished because no one ever knew…and Anna Sophia loved seeing her father…"

"Her father?" Harry questioned uncertainly.

"Her name is Anna Sophia Snape, Harry," Cassie whispered. "He doesn't know she's still alive. He doesn't know who took her and he definitely doesn't know where she is. That's part of what turned him into such a heartless bastard. That and the fact that his wife's missing as well…"

"Wife? Snape had a wife and kid?"

"Yes, Harry," Cassie said impatiently. "And Sophie's one of the sweetest people I've ever met so don't tease.

"Then when I was fourteen, Wormtail returned to the Manor. I remember trying so hard not to kill him. I felt that when he betrayed your parents, he took the last chance I had at getting away."

"Why?"

"James and Lily Potter were a world-renown Auror and Unspeakable respectively. Many believed that if Albus Dumbledore couldn't kill Voldemort, then James and Lily were their last hope.

"I also couldn't stand how he turned his back on his friends. It was despicable and it made me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Then Barty Crouch Jr. returned and I heard about the Triwizard Tournament. That was the first time I felt the connection."

"What connection?"

"Do you ever recall feeling depression or fear that wasn't your own? Or something the slightest bit happy, but good, not evil?"

"Yeah," Harry said, unsure as to what she was getting at.

"Harry, I survived the Killing Curse as well." Harry's jaw dropped open. "No, you're not the only one. It's a source of entertainment for Riddle to see how many times he can hit me with the _Avada Kedavra_ and I survive. I always have bruises the next day. It isn't my mom's sacrifice that protects me though. I don't know why exactly I can survive the Killing Curse.

"However, since Riddle tried to kill you with the same curse and it backfired on him, you and I have a connection. I didn't know about the Triwizard plan so I had to tap into your mind to find out what was going on. After a while I began to notice Moody's strange behavior in comparison to the Moody I used to know and I immediately reached the conclusion that Crouch Jr. was acting as an imposter. I tried to warn you, sending signals of suspicion and uncertainty your way, but you didn't seem to notice the drastic change. You passed it off as your own paranoia, not that I can blame you.

"Then your name came out of the goblet. I have to admit, despite my lack of emotion that might be interpreted as hate at the beginning of the week, I'd grown kind of protective and fond of you. You were reckless and rebellious, but had a respect for people who deserved it, except that redheaded friend of yours and Dumbledore and those Seamus and Dean guys and Cho Chang and her friend Marietta. Really! You were driving me mad! Cho Chang was using a _love potion_ on you, for Christ's sake! She wanted to play with your heart until you admitted you liked her and then she'd dump Cedric for the power and fame and money that accompanied a relationship with you. She'd either get pregnant by you or marry you, she figured. Then she wanted someone – and I don't know who - to kill you so that she'd get all the money and the estate."

Harry's face was priceless. "Are you sure…I mean…?"

"Of course I'm bloody well sure! I wouldn't be making accusations like this otherwise! Chang and Edgecombe will both be Death Eaters come May. Their parents already have the Dark Mark. They got it about a week after Voldemort returned.

"Either way, I was terrified for you when your name came out of the goblet. Remind me to thank that Hermione girl for her bit of compassion towards you and strangle that Weasley for his attitude. Honestly! He was driving me crazy, the jealous prat! I watched you go through the first task…do you realize how lucky you were, Harry James Potter? A Hungarian Horntail…honestly you have the _worst _luck imaginable. I watched you welcome Weasel King back with open arms…you idiot, but he was your friend for a few years I guess," Cassie muttered and shook her head. "The Yule Ball…poor Parvarti...actually I take that back. I don't feel the _least_ bit bad for that bitch, that Death Eater-wannabe. She'll turn out just like her parents, I'm telling you. And Cho! I'm telling you she was bad news. She knew there was a good chance Diggory would die and then she'd go crawling to you and you'd welcome her with open arms…stupid, hormonal male.

"Then the second task came…remind me to thank the Longbottom guy for saving your arse! Why couldn't you have figured out what you were going to do earlier? You were worrying me to death! And seriously? Did Dumbledore _really_ pick Ron to be your most prized friend? It had half the school population wondering if you were _gay_, number one, not to mention the fact that he's not that supportive in the first place! Why not Hermione or _Ginny_ for crying out loud! And then you saved Gabrielle and Crouch captured her for Moldy's pleasure. God, getting her with the others was extremely difficult…" Cassie mumbled. "The third task." Silence.

"I was out of my fucking mind worried about you, Harry James Potter!" Cassie whispered and tears came to her eyes. "I knew something was going to happen. You have all the Gryffindor courage in the world, but your recklessness really gets me worried sometimes. And it wasn't your fault, so don't even start thinking like that! But I wish you would have done an examining charm on the portkey cup.

"And then the magic of your blood melted the blade from Pettigrew. Wormtail grabbed Cedric, plunging a knife into his neck and bleeding him out into the cauldron. That gave me nightmares for weeks and I couldn't possibly _imagine_ what it was going to do to you. I was devastated for your sake. Then with his return to an actual body and the duel…I was terrified.

"He came back to the manor and immediately greeted me with a nice, cold assault, not that he hadn't done it a million times before as Lestrange. Eventually his beatings became more and more often and there was less time in between. I didn't have time to recover and I was fighting a losing battle.

"But it was the day he made me watch as he tortured and killed kids and Muggles and a few witches and wizards that defied him _for fun_ that I'd finally had enough. I couldn't stand the pain any longer. I talked with Draco. He and I thought out a plan. I got the others to a castle in Scotland that I knew one of us owned and then apparated myself back to the manor…"

"Are you kidding me? And _I'm_ reckless?"

"Harry, I _had_ to. All my notes, my books, and everything from my life were back there and I didn't have a chance to grab it. My notes! Including the ones on how to possibly stop the Unforgivables with a potion _and_ with a shield spell…and my lycanthropy cure. I needed those notes. They may help us win the war. I barely managed to escape. Draco had to help me as did a few of my other Slytherin friends. When they helped me escape, they had to go to the castle as well after _accio-_ing their belongings.

"I apparated to the nearest place I could think of…a café just outside the shopping district of London. A woman found me on the streets and dragged me to an adoption center. I was put into foster care after they realized I had no records and the Dursleys adopted me later that day. Apparently I was a rare variety in the foster home. I came here, not knowing whom exactly I was going home to, and I literally felt your presence from outside. I almost bolted out of here like a bat out of hell, but something held me back. I put a mask and veil and shield over my emotions and let you see that I was magical before retreating back into my mind. I tried so hard to hate you…I figured it would be easier than trying not to tell you everything, but I couldn't help myself. I _needed_ some kind of comfort and you were steadfast on figuring out what was wrong and…"

"Calm down, Cass, it's fine. I don't mind," Harry calmed her down, running his fingers through her hair once again as she hid her face in his chest.

Finally she looked up at him, smiling softly. "Cass?" she questioned uncertainly.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it seemed to fit," he defended himself and, for the first time, he heard her laugh.

"Don't be so worried, Harry, I'm not gonna hurt you over a nickname," she smiled sadly and Harry put his arms around her again and she leant into his touch. Suddenly, she seemed relaxed for the first time in Harry's memory. "I'm sorry for falling apart on you."

"Don't be. I care about you, Cass, and if there was something wrong, I wanted to know. We're spending the entire summer together after all. You're important to me."

"Thanks, Harry."

The two teenagers chatted meaninglessly for a while before Cassie fell asleep, her head lying on Harry's chest. She was the perfect picture of innocence, Harry thought, but she'd been through so much. She was by no means naïve and innocent anymore.

_Jeez. That was a depressing thought. Huh, wonder what Cassie's gonna have us do for training __tomorrow. I wonder how that trunk is gonna slow down training time for us…I wonder why she'd doing this…I wonder_…

But Harry never recalled what he wondered because, at that moment, Harry's arms tightened around the fifteen year old girl and they both fell asleep.


End file.
